LPS welcomes over 300 teachers, still in need in some specialized areas

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Lincoln Public Schools officials said Wednesday that they’re encouraged by an increase in hires at elementary and secondary schools.

But they’re still behind in some areas.

“We continue to have a few openings in some of our specialized areas,” Vann Price, associate superintendent of human resources, said.

That includes speech-language pathologists, school psychologists and some special education positions.

The district currently employs around 3,800 educators, and this summer, it’s hired more than 300 new teachers to help meet the demand.

But 15 positions for paraeducators remain unfilled.

On Wednesday, dozens of educators, both newcomers and experienced teachers, came to Lincoln Southwest High School to learn about this upcoming school year and brush up on their subject areas.

District officials said math and science is a hard area to fill, but the event made sure educators can cover all bases in different subjects.

Officials said they’ve seen a positive trend in staffing for primary and secondary schools thanks to recruitment events and summer interview days.

“The last one we had a couple of weeks ago, we are very pleased that we’ve hired almost 20 from that group of people,” Price said.

But there’s a still a gap when it comes to substitute teachers.

“We only have only over 650 substitute teachers in Lincoln Public Schools,” said Ryan Escamilla, director of recruitment. “We’re always looking for more. We feel that is sufficient for the need that we have. However, we never know when we need additional staff to assist.”

As students get ready to return, district officials said they’ll keep hiring — and hope the right candidates answer the call.